U.S. patent application Ser. No. 262,665 filed May 11, 1981 discloses a mechanism for so transporting a flat workpiece (an insole) to a work station (an insole molding station) that a prescribed portion (the ball portion) of the insole is in registry with a prescribed portion (the ball portions of molds) of the work station. This is accomplished by providing: a front gauge mounted to a carrier for forward-rearward movement; a back gauge, located rearwardly of the front gauge, mounted for forward-rearward movement; a work support mounted to the front gauge and extending rearwardly towards the back gauge; gauge moving means for moving the front gauge rearwardly with respect to the carrier and the back gauge forwardly at different speeds until the gauges intersect the opposite ends of the workpiece that is on the support; means, operative after the intersection of the gauges with the opposite ends of the workpiece, to lock the front gauge to the carrier and to hold the workpiece on the work support; and means for thereafter transporting the carrier rearwardly a prescribed distance to thereby transport the workpiece to the work station with said prescribed portions in registry.
The workpieces are herein disclosed to be flat insoles and the work station is disclosed to be a molding station having a pair of molds with complementary molding surfaces that move towards each other with insole therebetween to mold or shape the flat insole to the shape of the molding surfaces. In such a molding operation, it is desirable that the ball portion of the insole be located between and be in registry with the ball portions of the molding surfaces prior to imparting closing movements of the molds with respect to the insole to cause the molding surfaces to mold the insole.
Insoles of different lengths are so constituted that there is a greater change in distances from one insole length to another between the ball portions and the heel ends of the insoles than there is between the ball portions and the toe ends of the insoles and it is for this reason that the front gauge moves rearwardly and the back gauge moves forwardly at different speeds.